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From: richarddawkinsdotnet
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  • The degree to which an American presidential candidate has his feet in some other world has an enormous impact on this one.

    It should follow that it is of grave civic importance to examine the ‘faith’ of political power-seekers to determine the extent to which a person calling himself ‘observant’ can also be said to possess 'good judgment'.

    How much concrete reality a person must dismiss as an adult so as to justify maintaining the dogmas they were imprinted with as children should interest us.

  • Well that certainly painted a clear picture.

  • I am fired !!!!

  • Religion poisons the mind

  • Bought his book and completely loved it! It's infuriating what these religiofascists tend to do, often without second-thinking it.

  • And let's not forget the dog in a box strapped to the roof of Romney's car... it actually happened! Of course, it happened 25 years ago but the man was still a 30 year old adult when he did it. It should never be laid to rest.

    Lest we forget his love of dogs

  • Why did i think of KassemG and Going Deep when hearing that intro?

  • The american religious right and the republican party in general would be deemed an extremist party in Europe...I dont think it is a coincidence that the far-right has also been the loudest promoters of military interventions in the middle-east...it probably furthers and fosters their agenda of spreading christianity.

  • I can't help but feel that this presentation bordered on paranoid, even though i agree with a lot of what it says.

    What needs to be done in a presentation like this is to stick to facts and less buzzword use. Less speculation about some fence on his property.

  • I worry about how someone who will take one as fact the wild claims of a con man would be effected by this and how that would translate to their policy.

  • Romney may have a better edge on improving the economy (though I don't agree with his plans) but his social views are saturated in indoctrination which also will have a large impact on science and technology. Romney is not the kind of president who's going to make this country better. Now more than ever is an excellent opportunity to stand up to the ridiculous faith card.

  • Excellent and educational. Now please make a similar video on Obama's religion and why being part of Rev Wrights church is equally ominous.

  • Ok Mormonism aside, what the fuck kind of name is 'Mitt'? What's he gonna do if he's president, catch baseballs from the other world leaders?

  • I agree with Sean about Romney and his religious views. But he is wrong about raising the debt ceiling. The economists he is talking about are keynsian and it is becoming more and more apparent that it is a flawed economic model. It is necessary to embrace Austrian economics and monetary reform in order to fix the situation the US is in. We cannot continue to burden future generations with an enormous debt and spend ourselves into oblivion.

  • im not a mormon and i dont believe that abortion is a womans "right". A child is a child whether 8 minutes after conception or 8 years after conception. Murder is murder no matter what the age of the victim. After only 8 weeks of conception a fetus has begun to grow arms and legs and begins to move. Not fucking is a womans "right" or perhaps using condoms or other contraceptives are all within their right Why does it have to come to the point of murder

  • @ThisFish888 You do realize that many theocrats are also trying to make contraceptives harder to access, especially for the poor? Humans are naturally driven to have sex. You cannot control what goes on in the bedroom and you should not control what a woman might choose to do, considering it's their body to begin with. As for abortion being murder, please read "Abortion is not murder" by Robert Tucker, "Abortion is not murder" by Al Stefanelli, and "Why abortion isn't murder" by Don Smith.

  • i can't share this because i am surrounded by fox news believers.

    

  • A prince ought to take care that he never lets

    anything slip from his lips that is not replete with the above-named

    five qualities, that he may appear to him who sees and hears him

    altogether merciful, faithful, humane, upright, and religious. There

    is nothing more necessary to appear to have than this last quality,

    inasmuch as men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand,

    because it belongs to everybody to see you, to few to come in touch

    with you.

  • if romney were smart he would denounce his moronism , and say he simply believes in a creator. we all know most americans are too dumb to vote for an atheist .

  • @1robon lol most Americans think Atheist, Muslims, and Terriorist are the same thing

  • @490er ??? seems like most americans are atheist, just pretending to be christians

  • @ThisFish888 i wish that was true where i live

    they truely think they are christains but besides going to church they are no where close

    it turns out that the less a person believes in a god the more they are likely to follow laws and be abstait

    i mean i'm in high school and i've already noticed this and that is a majorty of over 200 poeple who i pay attion to their behavior and habits

    lol sorry if i sound like a stalker i find it interesting to find out how poeple tick and their reactions

  • @thebrassdubliner hmmm , the force is strong in this one

  • Agree with most of what Sean said, except for america leading the world. Suth arrogance seems to be ubiquitous unfortunatly. What makes you think we wish to be led? Especially by the US? The days of everyone wishing to emulate US is over! What would we want, your cruel health or social services? your millitarism? your failed public transport or your failing education system? your lack of financial regulation? your farse of a media? evangelicals? obsession with money? Shall I go on?

  • I think he needs to drop the Mormon "blacks were banned from the priesthood" argument, it just isn't reasonable. It's not like Romney supported that ban. The ban had been in effect since the beginning. Changing it required significant debate for the church, mainly because it clearly states in the Book of Mormon that black's bear the mark of cain (garbage, I know). Besides, there are plenty of other things to laugh at Mormonism and Romney about. Just watch South Park. =)

  • @TheNativeTwo Still, why did he never speak out against it?

  • I generally agree with most things this speaker has to say. However, I need to disagree with him on one point. I grew up Mormon and became atheist as a teenager. I never once saw any kind of racism in the LDS church. I'm only 30, so the repeal of the ban on black priests was before my time. Racism is hatred and there is none. The US didn't give blacks their rights back until the '60's. It's like saying someone shouldn't be president because he's from Alabama and they used to have Jim Crow laws.

  • Superb. But isn't Penn Jillette in roughly the same camp, economically speaking?

  • Bible is nothing without faith, if you read bible without faith it means nothing and you shouldn't read it without faith. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

  • @miksulder by faith, do you trust Harold Camping when he said the earth will end? He has no miracles, he is exactly like Noah. No sane person would listen to him, nor to Noah. But like you said, the Bible is nothing without faith, a manmade construct given to other men

  • thank you for a great--important-- video post....

  • i cant believe the visciousness of conservatives when they say that liberals supported slavery and it was christian right wing conservatives who helped create this egalitarian society. piss and shit on all of them.

  • This talk had potential

  • "Romney's underwear is irrelevant". I want that on a T-shirt.

    Excellent video, very thought-provoking.

  • @waltermh111 In a free market of ideas, everyone ends up richer.

  • @SelfImmolator coun't agree more!

  • I'm an atheist. I don't belive in Keynesian Economics. I beleive that privatization would improve most government programs. I think you missed a large group of atheists with this talk.

  • @mike000000000000able that is blindly stupid. we know that privatization makes any area of the economy purely about profit. there are countless times when this is a HORRIBLE idea. making money and doing what is right and best for society are often in direct conflict.

  • @ richarddawkinsdotnet Hi Sean. Seems like you deleted your response to me again. Good that I have the email. No, I absolutely don't agree with you and your idea that the US should lead the world. Into what? An aera of Mc Donalds and Burger King? To respect "religions" like Scientology, the mormons or Western BC? Or into an aera of great health care system? And when it comes to Human Rights Abuses see your own country, too. First fix your own country before you want lead the world anywhere.

  • I don't approve of this mixing of the secular campaign with other issues. What place does the statement about Keynes have in this movement? I want to welcome & attract secularists with any economic point of view. Sean's got to be far more careful. I'm not a fan so far.

  • Great video. Put together well.

  • I'll bet you $10,000 that Romney doesn't actually believe this bs. He is just pretending to be religious like many other politicians.

  • @kolobok007 That would make him a liar.

  • keynes was right??????????????? bull shit!!! Austrian Economics Rule!!!

  • Ron Paul!!!!

  • @richarddawkinsdotnet Hi Sean. I would love for you to send me a link with all the info that you discussed in this video. I have plenty of friends who think Romney is the answer. Gotta spread the word to my theist friends. Keep up the good work. Thanks

  • So he agrees with Romney that the Americans should lead the world?! Interesting. Good for him. But actually I think the world is doing pretty good without an American leadership. Pretty dumb speaker to smack everyone else in the face.

  • @mollie2810 Yeah, I also dislike the belief that we have ever been more free than other countries.

    Each country had different levels of freedom, even we had many non free areas where others were free.

    Such as other countries ending slavery first.

    I grew up on the propaganda, and its annoying looking back to think people are still being brainwashed with the bull.

    We dont need to lead, we need to learn from others, and also set examples for others to learn from us.

  • @waltermh111

    Thanks for that comment, couldn't agree more! :)

  • If the corporation is a person Romney is a serial murderer. :)

    

  • It's pretty simple for me. How can a smart man like Romney believe the obviously made-up Mormon religion? If he can be bamboozled that easily about an obviously fake religion, what else can he be fooled about?

  • @MrWagman11 All religions are obviously made up and obviously fake.. Mormonism is not special when it comes to being ridiculous.

  • @MrWagman11 aaahhhh......the power of indoctrination. I don't understand it either but it seems to be the only good explanation.

  • @MrWagman11 Agree. ...and remember, ALL religions are fake.

  • @AGNOSSI Agreed. But some are even faker than others.

  • @MrWagman11 All other religions are just as transparant, so Romney is entirely typical of presidential candidates.

  • @MrWagman11 You're right. It's almost as obviously fake as its parent religion - christianity! Good thing you are not bamboozled as easily as mitt romney. Virgin birth - what poppycock! Another good thing is that you and I can agree on these things so closely.

  • @MrWagman11 What religion isn't obviously fake? 

  • @jonathan1stewart All religions are based on superstition, lies, desperation and fantasy. Now this isn't going to be logical in any sense of the word, but some religions are obviously more fake than others.

  • @MrWagman11 I think the only difference between Mormonism other "mainstream" religions is that their creation happened in historical times and their myths are therefore possible to debunk with solid historical data. We know Scientology is junk because we can see L. Ron Hubbard's idiocy in context. Mormonism began recently enough that we know it's founders were frauds. Abrahamic religions however can hide behind the fog of time to validate their "miracles."

  • @jonathan1stewart Well said. I couldn't agree with you more. 

  • @MrWagman11 Yes it is logical. Many biblical places in the Torah existed (how accurately they're portrayed is up to archaeologists.)

    That's what makes religion more believable, because it wraps parable, blatant lies, and (some times) good morals.

    FSMism is probably more fake than Christianity, but they both are in a state of unreality, non truth, charlatan lies. Only the former was made to imitate the features of the latter.

  • @MrWagman11 Your wording implies that some religions are "made-up" and others are legitimate. Please provide us with an example of a religion that isn't "made-up".

  • @rkzb I do not intend to imply that there are some religions that are not made up. All religions are man-man creations and are made up based on myths, lies, superstitions and fears.

  • @MrWagman11 In what way is Mormonism any more ridiculous than any other major theology (IE Christianity, Judaism, Islam)?

  • @rawrified101 Because Mormonism is so much younger than Christianity, it is much easier to discern as a fake. And it is obviously based on a complete fraud. Meanwhile, as "jonathan 1 stewart" pointed out, Abrahamic religions can hide behind the fog of time to validate their miracles.

  • @MrWagman11 : Nicely said!

  • @MrWagman11

    He uses religion for his own ends! Most, if not all, of the statesmen use religion as a tool of winning the votes. I´m very suspicious of his "faith-affiliation" although some of the politicians suffer from the same "Messiah-complex", believing the myths of the religion, considering themselves "superhuman" and "christ-like" (ie Hitler)

  • @MrWagman11

    While I personally agree with you, there is the danger of the slippery slope this implies. Our constitution prevents any religious test coming in between a candidate and any government office. By separating church and state, our founding fathers did not want to bar the religious from holding office, but rather hoped that it should never come up. Romney puts the public in an awkward position by shoving his beliefs down our throats and expecting us to treat him in a secular manner.

  • @MrWagman11 And your asuming any other religion is real?

  • @FailARN100 I know all religions are based on myths and superstitions. At least with Christianity the evidence has been distorted through poor record-keeping and the fog of time. Mormonism has no such excuse. It is so obviously fake it's laughable. If a President can buy the lies of Mormonism, what other stupid decisions will he make?

  • @MrWagman11 - Amen brother!

  • so at what point does one actually say thank-you after saying "I wannu ah thank-you very much Harry for that introduction and I want to have your energy this year much less in coming years you 'r' a very uh impressive leader for our movement an' I also wanna thank-you for inviting me here a couple of years ago because ...' ...on&on... demonizing ...joking ...plugs his book (ah ha there it is 1:40) ..."so thank-you Louisiana! ..uh ...for a tremendous inspiration..." holding up his book laughing

  • I am an Atheist, and as ridiculous as I find religion, I am not a one issue voter. For me economic and fiscal policy are at the top of the list. I feel that the smaller government, free market argument will bear more fruit. Sadly I reservations that any of these candidates will actually shrink government spending. Republicans have been for moderately increased taxes and big government, while Dems are for higher taxes and huge government. This concerns me more than their superstitions.

  • Jeremiah Wright sure seemed to have that certain bat shit crazy, out to change the world vibe, and Obama never seemed to notice, at least until the rest of us did. Wright's church is clearly a good one to belong to if one is upwardly mobile in the black community of Chicago. He also says he believes in collective salvation, and that scares me. I keep hearing from my liberal friends that Obama didn't "really" believe. He would still be faking it for political and financial gain.

  • What happened to Catholicism?Denying women safe,legal abortions(we know that making abortions illegal doesn't stop women from having them)and stopping gay marriage has become more important to the Catholic elite than helping poor(you know,something Jesus actually commanded).Liberation theology was the best movement ever proposed by religion,and what happened?The movement was crushed by the hierarchy(including the current Pope) in order to placate the social masters.Jesus was not a capitalist.

  • Sean Faircloth knows shit about economics. Fundamentalist protestants and mormons do. When it comes to science, it could be the other way round. But come on Sean.

  • @82abhilash What did he say that you think is wrong?

  • @IseeRightThrough2you About economics, pretty much everything.

  • So, Obama's religion doesn't matter? LOL

  • Why is privatizing s.s. so bad? And what so bad about building a fence with your son? I like Sean but this speech didn't do anything for him

  • religion is wrong , so if he is religious that should be count , bur don't talk about economics because that is not your area.. Kensianism does not work . Austrian Economics do ,

  • @pindafef Bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit. You know it as well as I do.

  • @pindafef Austrian economics is predicated on a priori reasoning, without any regard for evidence. You can't lean anything of value about economics from setting in your armchair in Vienna just thinking about it, anymore than you elucidate the origins of the universe by making up silly stories about magic fruit and talking snakes. You shouldn't be telling anyone not to talk about economics.

  • @phatpat63 Actually that is what they do about the origin of universe. The theoretical physician makes up a silly story. Then another set of physicians, try to look and see what the real world consequences are if that silly story is true. That part is done in a lab of course. But there is apriori reasoning. Anything the theoretician makes up is the silly story. Like the silly story about evolution for instance.

  • @pindafef I doubt if you would find a willing ear to the idea of Austrian economics in these circles. People here have big dreams and they do not let the real concept of scarcity come in their way. But they tend to face the problem of scarcity quiet often. In such circumstances, it is tempting to resort to the old idea fine-tuned by the communists. Demonize a rich man and justify stealing from him. The rich man could be Romney. I hope it does not come to that.

  • @Farf420 No, Faircloth definitely wasn't merely speaking about leading the global economy; he really *does* mean an ideological sort of leadership. And I agree with him.

    "America should lead the world, but I would hope the basis for that leadership should be protection of individual rights and protection of minority rights, which are concepts which we came to bring forward in this country." -Sean Faircloth at 9:53 in the video

  • I miss Hitchens more and more every day :/

  • @TheIndianaatheist Me too. I cryed.

  • @TheIndianaatheist Yes, he would have the right words for Susan G Komen foundation. Religion matters. It is trying to destroy women's reproductive rights. Religion matters because it wants a say in our secular government.

  • @TheIndianaatheist id say amen to that but i dont want to be hitch slapped so ill settle with me too.

  • Stop confusing your own issues with religious propaganda! Lead the world in secular rights . . . (perceptions of . . .)! Nothings wrong with distained conception - vote secularist!

    Stretch-Romney says - we people work for the inside, screw everybody else . . . spend their money! IF THAT DOES NOT WORK; there is no state, there is no religion . . . just misrepresentation . . . philosophy!

  • Shouldn't the title of this speech be, "Why Obama and Romney's religions matter"?

  • Secularism is the way forward, obviously. But I just can't stand patriotism (in any form). This world doesn't need leading by any particular country, group or individual. Sheep need leading, not educated human beings. Education Education Education is what will solve the worlds problems, whether it be politics, religion or disease.

  • @QuantumGh0st I agree completely.Patriotism and its ugly, more psycho sister Nationalism are just as irrational and destructive to humanity as religion is.The problem with the Soviet Union and China was that they were societies based on the "religion" of nationalism.Countries can be redrawn literally over night.We need to move beyond borders and embrace the whole of our species rather than dividing ourselves up if we wish to survive.

  • You make the excellent point about hypocrisy that we all need to keep at the forefront; these religious politicians cannot on the one hand keep boasting about their religious credentials and the and then, when faced with tricky questions about their religions try and claim that religion doesn't enter into it.

  • Blah blah blah - talk about Freudian penis envy

  • Elect Ron Paul for president, not a corrupt politician hiding behind his cloak of so-called "religion"! ..And who of course finance his campaign with money from the big corrupt organisation like Goldman-Sachs - how much REAL change do you think this guy will give you? - remember Obama..

  • @Sophrosyne31 I'll take a corrupt genius over an honest idiot.

  • @MultiUniv3rsal Yeah, sure...but that's not the case here. :)

  • @Sophrosyne31 Until the good 'doctor' can embrace evolution, a woman's right to privacy, and the Civil Rights act as a legitimate act of federal power, he can piss off.

    I don't even have to invoke racism to point out his weak spots that invalidate him as a serious candidate.

    Obama on the other hand, he might not always do the things we want him to do, but I'll assure you he knows wtf he's doing up there, he's on par with Clinton for intelligence.

  • @MultiUniv3rsal in the wake of more warring, bailouts, failed economic policies, shitting on your civil liberties and fucking with the internet you're worried about whether or not Ron Paul believes in evolution, is pro-life and has qualms about the civil rights act? "might not always do the things we want him to" indeed.

  • @MOONDOGGIESWTF WHAT MORE WARRING? State a fact before throwing that lump of bullshit onto the pile.

    We're in a stagnant fuck-all economy right now because there's not enough warring to stimulate it.

    1. Fucking with the internet is bullshit but it's not the government doing it, it's people trying to push bills at the behest of their corporate buddies.

    2. If you think our civil liberties are being shit on you have no comprehensive view on how people live in general outside the US.

  • @MultiUniv3rsal lol you're a joke. saying the corporations are solely at fault for influencing the government is like saying the hitman shouldn't be guilty of anything because someone merely paid him to act. how other people live outside the US (myself included) is irrelevant to the fact that civil liberties are now measurably worse off in the US than before Obama. more warring i.e. more warring in all forms Afghanistan, drug war (breaking his promise to not circumvent state decisions on mj)etc

  • @MOONDOGGIESWTF Bullshit. False equivalencies and misinformation on your part.

    Fail.

  • @MultiUniv3rsal also i regret not reading the 100 other comments you've left here, because I usually never engage people who amount to nothing more than economic creationists. thanks.

  • @MOONDOGGIESWTF That might be the dumbest bullshit anyone has ever written, ever.

  • @MultiUniv3rsal I like the part where you made an argument. You're just another dime a dozen, obama chode sucking meat head. See how easy it is to assert stuff? I just said it therefore its true right? Fuck off please.

  • @MOONDOGGIESWTF Happily, no point in arguing with someone who hasn't got a fucking clue.

    That's you, by the way.

  • @MOONDOGGIESWTF couldn't have said it better myself. As an atheist and a scientist, I am more concerned about my personal liberties than whether or not Paul believes in evolution or not. We will probably never get an atheist president, but I am confident Paul is the man for the job.

  • @MultiUniv3rsal Sorry, but this is nonsense. It's fine if you are a Mitt Romney fan or whatever, but let us stick to the real world..

  • @Sophrosyne31 Yeah, not nonsense. Fact. Also a fact: Fuck Mitt Romney. Another fact: Fuck republicans. Another fact: Ron Paul is a republican.

    Fail /Disqualified.

  • @MultiUniv3rsal Yeah,I can't stand how readily everyone is willing to forget the things Paul actually believes.As a mother of a biracial child,I really don't want someone who thinks the Civil Rights Act should be repealed as the leader of this nation.As a woman,I don't want someone who views my sex primarily as walking wombs with no say in our own bodies as the leader.How can you even graduate medical school without accepting evolution?That says volumes about Paul's mentality.

  • @Sophrosyne31 And before you say something you'll have to take back, yes, Bill Clinton was a Rhodes scholar and more educated from more prestigious institutions than any previous US president.

  • @Sophrosyne31 ...and his IQ is 182.

  • I'm no fan of Romney or his religious views, but it makes no sense to attribute his fiscal conservatism to his religion. Raising or not raising the debt ceiling IS a moral issue. Is it moral to borrow and spend money that you can't ever repay? Is it moral to incur a debt that will have to be repaid by millions of future citizens that have no voice? Of course it isn't.  No religious dogma is required to see that.

  • @JaredLangdon If you really thought that way, you'd swear off driving your car, as the emissions could lead to your children's world being more polluted through no choice of their own. But I bet you won't do that.

    Sometimes you have to draw from tomorrow to make it through today... we wouldn't do it like that if we could find a way to steal from the past.

  • this guy is so full of shit. just a left wing operative spewing partisan BS

  • @bahdahdoop Your free to think that but you'll probably be ignored unless you care to actually argue against the content of the video, instead of just insulting the guy.

  • What, no Diet Coke ad?

    I kid, I kid.

  • overwhelming evidence keynes was right? I think I'll stop right here.

  • @bobsacamano1 Even though Keynesian economic policies have been the biggest boons for our country, whereas the Friedman and the Austrian schools of thought have been the very reason we lose our money to the banks and megacorporations hand over fist.

  • @MultiUniv3rsal how did you come up with that?

  • @bobsacamano1 Lets see, investments in the state and social policies have allowed our people to live life as something more than serfs, while deregulation and laissez-faire has gutted our national coffers and handed the money over in gilded briefcases to the biggest, most powerful industries.

    But I suppose you think subsidizing Exxon-Mobile and allowing the richest to use their money to fuck over the less fortunate is a good idea.

  • @MultiUniv3rsal that's not accurate history.

  • @bobsacamano1 What fucking part? Your ideologues agree that the rich can afford to build schools and pay for their own children's education - leading to a managerial aristocracy.

    Mine thinks that investing in state education gives everyone a chance to rise above, as wealth isn't and should not be hereditary.

    What other of the tens of thousands of examples of Keynesian economics being the stronger theory are you looking for?

  • @MultiUniv3rsal I'm not a strawman.

  • @bobsacamano1 Go away, you don't even have a clue what it is you're arguing.

    Lol strawman derpity derp derp derp.

  • @MultiUniv3rsal Pointing out that absolute monarchistic states forced people to be serfs, or that our current state subsidizes well connected firms does not refute, but rather supports my position.

  • @bobsacamano1 State subsidies for an extremely profitable corporation are the very soul of corruption where the 'free market' exerts it will to exploit state money to their own ends.

    If you think public education prevents serfdom more than just calling your country a democracy, you are deluded to all hell. Absolute monarchies and republican dictatorships all but disappeared from western society after the rise of public education.

    It's why we rebelled against England.

  • @MultiUniv3rsal There is nothing "free market" about the state. There is no such thing as a republican dictatorship. A republic is a state without a dictator. We didn't rebel from England because of public education. We rebelled from England because we were being oppressed by the state.

  • @bobsacamano1 Napoleon = republican dictatorship. Kim Jong Il = republican dictatorship. There's been a lot of them, actually. Its just the term used when you have an absolute ruler that isn't a hereditary monarch.

    We rebelled against a monarchy because people were finally elevated above the stupidity that allowed monarchies to thrive. If you cannot keep the peasants stupid, they will eventually see you for what you are. If you want to see a

  • ...System where keeping popular ignorance at a high level is working, go to North Korea.

  • @MultiUniv3rsal When people become smart enough, they will reject the state entirely. Let's not be so foolish as to think that the state is essential for human prosperity; the locations with the strongest states have the least prosperity.

  • @bobsacamano1 Libertarian garbage.

  • @MultiUniv3rsal You're just as foolish as the religious because you share a common error. To satisfy the basic human desire for order the religious turn to god. You turn to the state. If you were enlightened, you'd realize that you need neither god nor the state.

  • @bobsacamano1 You're right... 'I' don't need the state. No individual needs the state. But we don't exist individually, we share the land with our neighbors. The state is what prevents border incursions between the property of individuals and arbitrates conflicts within it's national borders. It's the patriarch that wages war in a people's name with it's collected funds, so that world issues actually get solved instead of allowed to fester like so many boils.

  • @bobsacamano1 Oh, and if you want to see what a stateless society is, just take a boat out to the Somali coast, eventually you'll be ransomed off in a stateless society.

  • @MultiUniv3rsal You're fearful, just like the religious. The religious fear that without god they will go to hell. You fear that without the state you'll fall victim to pirates.

  • @bobsacamano1 Not at all, but I've read Leviathan and I'd rather have the state as the sole arbiter of violence rather than the highest bidder or the strongest candidate.

  • @bobsacamano1 I guess to sum it up we are the divisions of 2 major schools of thought,

    I' with Hobbes and Keynes, you're with Rousseau and Friedman.

  • @MultiUniv3rsal Pretty much. Although I'm not all about the social contract because it doesn't exist and no one has signed it. I just hope I was able to share with you a little insight about how the desire for order usually manifests as an affinity toward either religion or state.

  • @bobsacamano1 Sure, but I'll always fight to have the state a scientifically treated entity rather than a focal point of worship.

    State worship is exactly what Orwell was warning us about.

    The social contract doesn't need to be a real thing, but when the systems in place that violate it's ethics, the ramifications have always been confirmed. That's why us libs always defend unions; they are the only group around that binds that contract.

  • @bobsacamano1 Here's some more examples of republican dictatorships:

    Hosni Mubarak

    Saddam Hussein

    Bashar Assad

    Moammar Ghaddafi

    See a trend? Mostly Arab countries with an extreme reactionary element keeping the people from speaking out against the religion or the state.

  • Give me Freedom FROM Religion. Please!

  • Yeah... I have one of those mormon monstrosities behind my house .... mormon opulence is disgusting.

  • @drnekodr Opulence... I has it.

  • M itt r O m N E Y

    Take care

  • Absolutely frightening ! I don't want to live in a theocracy and I hope enough people are willing to stand up and fight against this shit !

  • Sorry, we don't need or want America to lead the world.

  • Comment removed

  • @seasch71

    Be careful what you wish for.

    Some country will lead the world - who do you want?

  • @revjimbob I don't believe that one nation should rule other nations but I believe in the self-determination of all people and nations. My biggest complaint about US politics is that very few US citizens fight against detention of US citizens without a fair trial and far, far less about the detention of non-US citizens without a fair trial.

  • @seasch71

    "I don't believe that one nation should rule other nations"

    Neither do I. You can believe what you want though, but you can be sure that some nations will be more powerful than others.

  • @revjimbob I am not disagreeing, that some nations will be stronger than others. I just hope, they won't misuse that power to rule over others.

  • @seasch71

    A democracy, for all its faults, and one based on an idea of freedom, is more likely to not misuse that power.

  • @seasch71 I believe he meant lead by example. I dont like American Exceptionalism either but dont be so anti-American Exceptionalism that you lose site of reality and just become the other side of the coin.

  • @Farf420 I am not that anti-American. I highly doubt, any other major nation would do a better job. But I don't think, that one nation should rule over other nations.

  • @seasch71 Well I dont think thats what Mr Faircloth was implying by "America should lead the world". He means economically lead as opposed to China leading the worlds economy.

  • @seasch71 Sorry, but it's the result of circumstance. When you are a nation that is built on anti-xenophobic sentiment and has an entire continent to take all the best land from, you're going to get a demographic that eventually surpasses that of old-world nations; who have always had a Prussia or a China preventing them from expanding to suit their populations.

    The Soviets aren't the counterbalance anymore because the practice of vassalizing small states is frowne